A Second Chance
by Scotty512
Summary: Jackson's summer is coming to a close, and he's got one last chance to make a move on the girl who's had his heart all summer
1. Chapter 1

His heart pounding in his chest, this throat going dry, and palms become sweaty as he makes eye contact with her across the room.

"Are you gonna go talk to her man?" Steve asks giving Jackson a nudge on his shoulder

"Oh, I don't know" he says shyly as he takes a big sip of his drink.

"Dude, this is your last chance before the summers out, what are you waiting for?"

"What if I go over there and she says no? Everyone will know, and I'll be the laughing stock of work" Jackson replies and quickly finishes his beer.

Steve places his hand in Jackson's shoulder and smiles at him.

"Dude she'd be lucky to have a guy like you in her life, you're an Amazing person, just go over and talk to her"

Jackson smiles and hugs his buddy.

"Maybe you're right" he smirks and looks up, making eye contact with Veronica across the room, she shoots him a flirty smile.

"Told ya buddy, go get her!" Steve says and smiles as he judges Jackson towards her.

As he approaches her, his heart jumping out of his chest, thinking of a million things to say, trying to make a good impression. A million different scenarios playing through his head, he gets nervous and stops in his tracks.


	2. Chapter 2

Oh no, no, no" Steve mutters under his breath as he sees Jackson stopping.

"What's going on buddy?" He whispers and puts his arm around his shoulder, and walks with him towards the girls.

"I can't do it" Jackson stutters out, and looks over at Steve with a confused look on his face.

How is he remaining so calm? Why can't he be like Steve? Why must he always be consumed with anxiety and think of the worst possible outcomes?

"We'll be right with you ladies, would either of you like a drink?" He asks as they reach the table and shoots a reassuring smile over at Jackson.

They reach the drink table and grab a drink for Veronica and Ashley.

"Look dude, you need to push all of those bad thoughts to the back of your head, stop letting fear run your life" he says smiling as he hands him a shot of tequila.

"Drink this, and then take a deep breath, you've got this" he says reassuringly placing his hand on his shoulder and squeezing.

"Fuck it" Jackson says and quickly takes the shot.

"Let's do this Steve" he says taking a deep breath before heading over to the table.

"Here we go ladies, a shot for each, we don't need any chasers do we?" Steve asks as everyone cheers and quickly downs there shot.

Veronica and Jackson finish at the exact same time, each glass hitting the table simultaneously. They glare at each other and smile.

"I definitely won that" she says smiling and nudging his shoulder.

"Absolutely not, I beat you by half a second" Jackson replies with a huge grin on his face.

"How about the best two out of three?" He asks almost challengingly.

"You're on" she replies quickly, staring into his eyes.

"Loser pays for all the shots?" Jackson asks, wanting to make the bet a little more interesting but just being way to nervous to offer anything else.

"Sounds good to me" Veronica replies and looks up, and then looks back at Jackson.


	3. Chapter 3

As he walks back from the bar, he notices Veronica's gone.

"Dude where'd she go?" He asks Steven who's clearly not paying attention

"What? Who?" He replies

"Veronica! Who else?!" Jackson exclaims!

"She was just here a minute ago, maybe she went to the bathroom" Steven suggests and pats the seat.

"Sit down and relax, I'm sure she'll be right back" he smiles assuringly.

Jackson takes a seat and quickly takes one of the shots from the tray, his heart pumping fast again, a million different scenarios playing through his head.

"I'll be right back" he says softly and walks to the corner of the bar and pulls out his phone.

"This is Veronica, I can't get to the phone right now, leave a message"

"Hey Veronica, it's jackson . I'm just checking in on you, because you just disappeared and I wanted to make sure you're okay, call me back, bye".

"I think, I'm gonna head home dude" Jackson says to Steven who's so mesmerized on Ashley, doesn't even realize what's going on.

The walk from the bar to his house wasn't far at all, but for Jackson it's felt like he's been walking for days. His mind replaying the same scenes over and over, trying to figure out where it all went wrong. He sighs as he reaches his front door and pulls out his keys.

*ping* a text from Veronica pops up on his phone.

"Hey


	4. Chapter 4

Rage fills jackson as he walks up the stairs to his apartment. He tosses his phone on to the couch and walks into his room and collapses onto his bed.

Do I bother to see what excuse she has? Do I even respond? Should I even open it? All of these thoughts flooding his head.

*The phone rings in the background*

"Dude? Where'd you go? I thought you were hanging here with Steve?" Oliver asks, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Hey man, sorry about that, things happened and I just wanted to go home" Jackson replies.

"Get your ass down here man, it's the last day we get to hangout, we're living it up!" Oliver yells into the phone with excitement.

"Fine, I'll be right there" Jackson says half heartedly but grinning.

He tosses his phone on the counter and walks back to the bar, meeting up with his buddy.

"DUDE!" Oliver yells and runs over and Jackson. "I'm happy to see you!" He exclaims!

"I'm glad to see you too man, let's grab some drinks and have some fun" Jackson replies, eager to forget about the incident earlier.

"Please pick up the phone jackson, pick up, pick up, pick up" Veronica sadly pleads as she tries to reach him, but gets sent to voicemail each time.


	5. Chapter 5

Rage fills jackson as he walks up the stairs to his apartment. He tosses his phone on to the couch and walks into his room and collapses onto his bed.

Do I bother to see what excuse she has? Do I even respond? Should I even open it? All of these thoughts flooding his head.

*The phone rings in the background*

"Dude? Where'd you go? I thought you were hanging here with Steve?" Oliver asks, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Hey man, sorry about that, things happened and I just wanted to go home" Jackson replies.

"Get your ass down here man, it's the last day we get to hangout, we're living it up!" Oliver yells into the phone with excitement.

"Fine, I'll be right there" Jackson says half heartedly but grinning.

He tosses his phone on the counter and walks back to the bar, meeting up with his buddy.

"DUDE!" Oliver yells and runs over and Jackson. "I'm happy to see you!" He exclaims!

"I'm glad to see you too man, let's grab some drinks and have some fun" Jackson replies, eager to forget.

"Please pick up the phone jackson, pick up, pick up, pick up" Veronica sadly pleads as she tries to reach him, but gets sent to voicemail each time.

"Two more shots for me and my buddy!" Oliver exclaims as the two have had quite a bit to drink.

"Let me ask you something" Jackson asks and finishes his shot. "Why do women do what they do? They act interested, give all the signs, and then just poof disappear?"

"I.. I don't know bud" Oliver replies with a drink in his hand. "No reason we can't have a good, just the two of us huh?" He asks playfully nudging in Jackson's shoulder trying to get him out his funk.

"JACKSON!" A familiar voice yells from the entrance of the bar.


End file.
